Hasten
From Himitsu no Sensou
Contents |
[edit] Summary
The eldest son of House Lireth, Hasten's life has been a constant parade of expectations and struggles ever since his father made him into a man of iron and stone. Bitter, angry, and stern, hiding his personal desires and his secret desires, Hasten's world was thrown into conflict when his sister Elthea began to question the way things were done in their family, setting into place a spiral of events that had lead to him being confused, frustrated, and desperate, a murderer terrified of the slightest slip that may damn him forever.
[edit] Basics
Name: Hasten aka The Lion of Lireth
Age: 21 22
Birthdate: October 24 [Scorpio]
Blood Type: B
Languages: Trade [fluently], Detorian [fluently], High Dentorian [fluently]
Country: Dentoria
Class: Paladin] [prepromoted]
Weapons of Choice: Proficient in lances, swords, and axes; prefers lances
Mount Name: Lannis [horse]
[edit] History
It was so long ago that Hasten can barely remember, and tries valiantly not to, that he was a smiling, happy, gentle, timid little boy, who loved lace and dolls, flowers and jewels, hugs and kisses and laughter. The man he's become is so different from the boy he was, the boy may as well have died.
As a child, Hasten enjoyed playing in brooks, climbing trees, and braiding flowers into hair with his younger sister, Amaeyra. Amaeyra meant to world to him, and the two of them were inseparable. However, Elmudd of Lireth could not abide his son and heir behaving like a girl, weak and humiliating, and so he refused to let Hasten leave Lireth and refused to let anyone see the boy until he was deemed suitable. The process of making him suitable involved years of abuse both physical and emotional, years of impossible expectations with harsh punishments for failure and few rewards for success, years of neglect and insults and firm, harsh control. He was trained in every skill important for a Lord of Lireth to know, the lance, the horse, history, languages.
When Hasten was eventually good enough to be Lireth's heir, exceeding every expectation put before him, strong, handsome, commanding of respect and love, he was also hard, angry, and bitter, and only twelve years old.
Despite never revealing the depth of the effect his father's treatment had on him, even to Amaeyra, who could plainly see it, Hasten grew not to question what Elmudd had done to him. He hated him, loathed him, wanted nothing more that to rebel and defy him. And he loved him, idolized him, worshipping him, willing to do anything and sacrifice anything to gain his approval. Elmudd had been cruel, but as a result, Hasten had become perfect, transformed from the embarrasing, weak child he'd been into a man who all admired, respected, and idolized. All Hasten's doubts and anger were pushed under the surface, he obeyed Elmudd unconditionally in everything that was asked of him.
Until Elthea ran away from home.
Hasten's younger sister had always been the exception to a family of overacheivers and idols, a weak, timid, spineless girl who was as invisible as she was fragile. Hasten had viewed her with contempt for a long time, unable to see why she chafed and broke under treatment gentler than that which he had been shown. When Elthea ran away suddenly, however, it was left to Hasten to take a garrison of soldiers and find her. He searched for two and a half months, until his journal suddenly began talked, and he found that Amaeyra had found Elthea ... and Elthea had gone mad. She spoke against his father, their family, everything he had forced himself never to question, and doubts began to raise in his heart. The family attempted to ignore her and silence her, and for a time it worked, as Hasten courted Felicia of Mansoure and Amaeyra did the same for the disgusting, arrogant Tarmon of Emeron ... but Elthea's words finally made their mark before she took her own life, and Hasten swore to Amaeyra he would conspire against their self-serving father to find a man who would make her happy.
He plotted with Amaeyra, Elmudd's own knights, Lawrence of the supposed House Franel, anyone he could hope to trust to wed Amaeyra to anyone not Tarmon who his father could not argue to. In the pages of his journal, he became more angry and bitter at Elmudd, frankly admitting that he was sick of his expectations and directly going against his orders. His plan to wed Amaeyra to Prince Ian may have worked, if the youngest sister, Isanae, had not delivered Hasten's journal directly into the arms of Elmudd after overhearing her older siblings plotting ...
When confronted by Elmudd, who demanded Hasten take Amaeyra to Tarmon himself, Hasten defied his father outright. Elmudd taunted Hasten, and finally, after twenty-two years of pressure, the Lion of Lireth snapped. He killed Elmudd in a moment of rage, with Amaeyra watching.
In a moment of panic, the two of them made his death look natural and prayed no one would know the truth. Hasten now sits Lord of Lireth, but is also a murderer, kinslayer, and traitor, and no happier than he was before.
[edit] Personality
Hasten has lived his entire life seeking to make Elmudd and Lireth proud, and possible failure had always both frusterated and terrified him. To avoid this, he pushed himself to a near breaking point making certain that he simply never failed at anything.
There's an incredible intensity and drive to him that's somewhat frightening. He is single-minded and ruthless in the pursuit of his goals. The overall effect is impressive, powerful, and a little daunting. People who speak to him usually find themselves admiring the strength of his convictions or finding him so over the top it's hard not to laugh at him. Although it's probably a good idea if they don't, being laughed at isn't on his list of favoured pastimes.
As a result of surpressing every emotion, both negative and positive, for ten years, Hasten has a great deal of anger that erupts in sudden and not always appropriate ways. He rarely reacts directly to the actual situation that is upsetting him unless it's a battle he knows he can win with no adverse effects, choosing to instead take out his anger on his siblings, servants, or belongings. The complete lack of control in his own life has also made him a control maniac. Anything that he can impose his will upon, he does.
He smiles very rarely and while he cares very much for quite a few people, showing affection was taught to him as being a sign of weakness, so he makes a point of never doing so. Indeed, the ability to show affection has been forced from him, and even if he wanted to, odds are that he couldn't. Despite once being quite close to Amaeyra, when they were younger, the world was brighter, and Elmudd had yet to mould him into a man of iron, he now attempts to control her through fear, whether conciously or unconciously.
While the obsessive perfectionism he had always enforced on himself for his own and his father's approval chafed him, and badly, he has come so far that he cannot change it even with Lord Elmudd dead. He had never directly defied his father until the night he killed him.
Elmudd's death has changed very little in Hasten. It did not liberate him from his expectations and restrictions, and only went so far as to make Hasten paranoid of anyone who may betray or discover what he did that night, as well as instill deep feelings of guilt and self-loathing.
[edit] Relationships
- Elmudd, father, the center of his life, until he slew him in a rage.
- Bunny, mother, more a detached presence than a parent.
- Felicia, the wife whom he has no love for.
- Amaeyra, younger sister with whom he shares his only truly happy memories.
- Fartgus, younger brother, forever held before him as a threat
- Elthea, younger sister, held in contempt until her supposed death.
- Isanae, youngest sister.
- Lawrence, his closest friend in the reality where Franel had existed, and an confusing sort of acquaintance in the reality where it does not.
- Celeste, who he was expected to marry in the reality where Franel existed, and hasn't ever spoken to in the new one.
- Allison, his knight and personal spy.
- Tarmon, his arch nemesis and future soveign lord.
[edit] Appearance
Hasten is tall, well built, and strikingly handsome. He has waist-length honey-golden hair he holds back in a ponytail, and dark blue eyes. His golden beauty, combined with his pride and his regal nature have ended him up with the name "The Lion of Lireth." Anyone who has only met him since he was presented to the world has never heard him laugh, and probably never seen him smile. He wears either the fine clothes of a Dentorian nobleman or light armour, depending on the situation.
[edit] Quotes
- "Do not grieve for me. I do not need to be loved, and I am well accustomed to being alone."
- "A madman. Were you correct, Father. A madman calls me friend, and I believe."
- "Elmudd of Lireth was killed by horses."
- “This is your fault!” he grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her, hard. Murder. “I did this for you.” Patricide. “Didn’t I tell you? I don’t break my promises, Amaeyra, you made me do this.” Treason. “This is your fault.”
[edit] Other
Hasten's journal is located at thelionsheart. He is played by Rosa and is PB'd by Rimudo/Uruki from Fushigi Yuugi: Genbu Kaiden.
